Biomechanics Research

Biomechanics Research

Biomechanics Research

The Legacy Biomechanics Lab serves as a resource for basic and applied research. Biomechanical engineering provides an essential link between the lab bench and clinic to develop new and innovative devices that advance quality care.

The lab was established in 1999 by Michael Bottlang, PhD, and Steven Madey, MD, and its mission is to design, test, and evaluate novel treatment modalities that can be applied to direct patient care. The lab has state-of-the-art equipment for inclusive research and testing capabilities, combining design, prototyping, macro and sub-micro scale material testing, motion analysis, and finite element modeling, and has a shop with a full complement of precision machine tools.

Collaborations between orthopedic surgeons and engineers have produced compelling findings that have led to the development of new devices and processes that address unmet needs.

Notable accomplishments include:

An alliance with Legacy trauma surgeons to develop a device to stabilize pelvic fractures in emergency situations following traumatic crushing injuries resulted in the design, development and patenting of the Pelvic Sling. The device was licensed to a local manufactuer, and to date more than 100,000 have been sold worldwide.

Pelvic Sling Rib Plate System

Developed and prototyped a rib plate system to manage flail chest injury that combines the advantages of soft tissue-sparing intramedullary fixation and anatomically pre-contoured plating. The system was licensed to a major international medical device manufacturer and is becoming the standard of care for flail chest.